Parkinson's disease (PD) is a long-term degenerative disorder of the central nervous system that mainly affects the motor system. Abnormal accumulation of misfolded alpha-synuclein (aSyn) protein in Lewy bodies contributes to the development of synucleinopathies, including Parkinson's disease (PD) without dementia (PDND), PD with dementia (PDD), and dementia with Lewy bodies (DLBs).
Deleidi M and Maetzler W, in “Protein Clearance Mechanisms of Alpha-Synuclein and Amyloid-Beta in Lewy Body Disorders,” International Journal of Alzheimer's Disease, Volume 2012, write, “Protein clearance is critical for the maintenance of the integrity of neuronal cells, and there is accumulating evidence that in most—if not all—neurodegenerative disorders, impaired protein clearance fundamentally contributes to functional and structural alterations eventually leading to clinical symptoms. Dysfunction of protein clearance leads to intra- and extraneuronal accumulation of misfolded proteins and aggregates. The pathological hallmark of Lewy body disorders (LBDs) is the abnormal accumulation of misfolded proteins such as alpha-synuclein (Asyn) and amyloid-beta (Abeta) in a specific subset of neurons, which in turn has been related to deficits in protein clearance” (abstract).
US Patent Application Publication 2014/0324128 to Gross, which is assigned to the assignee of the present application and is incorporated herein by reference, describes apparatus for driving fluid between first and second anatomical sites of a subject. The apparatus comprises (1) a first electrode, configured to be coupled to the first anatomical site of the subject; (2) a second electrode, configured to be coupled to the second anatomical site of the subject; and (3) a control unit, configured to (i) detect a pressure difference between the first and second anatomical sites, and (ii) in response to the detected pressure difference, drive fluid between the first and second anatomical sites by applying a treatment voltage between the first and second electrodes. Other embodiments are also described.
PCT Publication WO 2017/006327 to Gross, which is assigned to the assignee of the present application and is incorporated herein by reference, describes an electrical amyloid beta-clearance system for treating a subject identified as at risk of or suffering from Alzheimer's disease is provided. The system includes (a) midplane treatment electrodes, adapted to be disposed over a superior sagittal sinus, outside and in electrical contact with a skull of a head of the subject; and (b) lateral treatment electrodes, adapted to be disposed between 1 and 12 cm of a sagittal midplane of the skull. The system further includes control circuitry, configured to clear amyloid beta from a subarachnoid space to the superior sagittal sinus, by applying one or more treatment currents between (a) one or more of the midplane treatment electrodes and (b) one or more of the lateral treatment electrodes. Other embodiments are also described.
PCT Publication WO 2017/072769 to Fostick et al., which is assigned to the assignee of the present application and is incorporated herein by reference, describes a system that includes a parenchymal electrode, configured to be implanted in brain parenchyma of a subject identified as at risk of or suffering from a disease; and a cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) electrode, configured to be implanted in a CSF-filled space of a brain of the subject, the CSF-filled space selected from the group consisting of: a ventricular system and a subarachnoid space. Control circuitry is configured to drive the parenchymal electrode and the CSF electrode to clear a substance from the brain parenchyma into the CSF-filled space of the brain. Other embodiments are also described.